According to Premium Times, one Abu Mohamed Abdulazeez who claims to be the second in command in the sect's leadership hierarchy spoke to journalists in Maiduguri on behalf of the overall leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, saying that they decided to end the crisis because they had come to a realization that Muslims suffer from the attacks and wanted Muslims to live peacefully. He said the announcement of the ceasefire followed a series of meetings it held with the government of Borno State where it got commitments from the government that its members in captivity will be released.
Although he agreed that there were factions within the group, he said the supreme power to order a ceasefire rested with the leadership of Imam Abubakar Shekau, who is the leader of the authentic group.
The statement made available to Punch reads:
"I, Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, is the 2nd Commander- in-charge of southern and northern Borno after Imam Abubakar Shekau of Jamaatul Ahjlil Sunna lidawati wal Jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram.
"For sometime now, we the members of Jamaatul ahlil Boko Haram sunna lidawati wal jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram have recently had a meeting and dialogue with the government of Borno State where we resolved that given the prevailing situation, there is the need for us to cease fire.
"We, on our own, in the top hierarchy of our movement under the leadership of Imam Abubakar Shekau, as well as some of our notable followers agreed that our brethren in Islam, both women and children are suffering unnecessarily; hence we resolved that we should bring this crisis to an end.
"We therefore call on all those that identify themselves with us and our cause, to from today(Monday) lay down their arms. Let every member who hears this announcement relay it to the next member who hasn't heard.
"We have met with the Borno State Government on two occasions and the fallout of the meeting was to cease fire. Presently, we are going to comply with the ceasefire order and by the time we are done with that, then security agencies could go ahead and arrest whoever they find carrying arms or killing under our name. We are very much aware of the fact that some criminals have infiltrated our movement and continued attacking and killing people using our name.
"Of course, there is a faction within us, but the larger faction of our movement is the one in support of this ceasefire move. Moreover, once top members of our group, including Imam Abubakar Shekau, are in support of the need for ceasefire, other smaller factions can be dealt with easily.
"This message, by the Grace of Allah, comes directly from the office of Imam Abubakar Shekau, the supreme leader of Jamaatul ahlil Sunna lidawati wal Jihad."
When Channels TV tried to contact the Borno State Government, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Media, Isa Gusau, in a telephone interview said he could not confirm the meeting between the Borno State government and the Boko Haram sect.
We sincerely hope this brings an end to the killings and bloodshed by members of the sect and pray for continued peace in Nigeria.
-Bella Naija
A two-year old boy was recently returned to his parents by kidnappers after his family paid N5 million ransom. According to PM News, Emmanuel Alonge was kidnapped by yet to be identified gunmen on Monday at Iju area of Lagos State and was taken to an unknown destination.
The kidnappers had earlier demanded for N150 million, which they later slashed to N100 million and then to N20 million and later to N5 million.
Thankfully, the boy was returned to his family on Saturday morning after paying N5 million ransom.
Emmanuel was snatched at gunpoint while riding in his parents' black Lexus SUV on his way to school. He was with the driver identified as Daniel, and a private Nurse identified as Mrs Adeyemo when the incident happened.
According to witnesses, the four abductors wore masks and they had been in the vicinity for some time awaiting the arrival of their victim. When they arrived the area, they drove and parked their black Mitsubishi Montero jeep at a distance of about seven buildings away from the residence of the Alonge's.
A source told PM News "Truly we noticed that the black Montero SUV was parked in the area but we did not suspect any ulterior motive because the occupants were playing and chasing one another around their vehicle.
"But when the SUV carrying the boy and others was approaching, they blocked the Lexus SUV. We noticed that the driver resisted the abductors but when they threatened to break the windscreen, he opened the door and he saw them carrying guns. They threw the nurse under the SUV car, snatched the boy and sped off in their car."
The nurse explained that because she was thrown under the vehicle, the driver could not ride on her and it gave the assailants ample time to drive off before they could chase after them. She said the kidnappers hit her several times with gun butt when she refused to release the boy, adding that "when they opened the door, they told us 'we are not going to kill you if only you give us the boy'; I then told them that I will not release the boy, until they kill me, that was when they hit me in the head and when I slumped they threw me under the vehicle."
The overjoyed father, Olusegun Alonge said the family picked up the boy around 3 AM at Car Wash bus stop, Alakuko in Lagos where the kidnappers dropped him.
"I thank God, the baby is fine. They treated him well. The house boy is still with the police as they are still investigating the case," he told PM News. However, the arrested driver, the house boy and other security guards are still in police custody.
The little boy won't have been able to understand that he was kidnapped but being among strange people for six days must have been a very uncomfortable experience for him. We are glad he is back to his family and hope that better steps would be taken to improve the security of lives in the country. Kidnapping a two year-old in broad daylight is surely not the way forward.
-BellaNaija
Traffic officials said he was overspeeding which could have been the cause of the accident. However, Olusola Oladimeji, the driver and owner of the Toyota Sienna said he wasn't.
The father of three who is a minister of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, said he was on his way home from work when the incident occurred. He narrated his experience to Punch:
"I work on the island and I left home for a meeting in the early hours of Saturday. After the monthly environmental sanitation, I started driving back home. I was driving at the speed of 60km/hr and was on the fast lane because the road was free. At Ebute Meta bypass, I saw two vehicles that had been involved in an accident but I kept on driving. Suddenly, everything went blank, I couldn't see anything again, and I just found myself in the water."
He did not lose consciousness in the water and as such, he unfastened the seat belt and swam towards a ray of light.
"I was not on high speed. When the car hit the railing of the bridge, the airbag was not released. After falling into the water, I unfastened the seat belt and noticed that one of the doors of my car had broken off, so I swam out of the vehicle to the surface of the water even though I don't know how to swim. It was while I was waving my hand that fishermen saw me and quickly came to my aid. They took me away from the scene and took me to a clinic located on the water where they administered the first aid."
Oladimeji was later taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where an X-ray scan was conducted on him. Although his leg was not fractured, it was cast with Plaster of Paris because he had a sprain.
When Punch visited his home, members of his church were seen coming to felicitate with him. One of them, Praise Onanuga, a pastor at MFM, Berkeley Parish, said the victim had just bought the car eight days before the accident.
"He bought the car just eight days before the accident and we were supposed to do the dedication today (Sunday) but we thank God that we were not put to shame. We will hold a thanksgiving for him soon because this is a miracle."
It is indeed a miracle and we are so glad he's alive.
Photo Credit: Punch
-Bella Naija
Amanpour: "Is Nigeria prepared in case there's a terrorist attack? (Like that of Algeria)
Jonathan: ".... what happened in Algeria is quite unfortunate."
Amanpour: Others believe Boko Haram is about resisting misrule and corruption"
Jonathan: "No! No! No! Boko Haram is not as a result of misrule. Sometimes people feel it's as a result of poverty, definitely not. We should not play politics with Boko Haram"
Amanpour: "The security forces are driving people to the hands of Boko Haram"
(Interjection)
Jonathan: How!? How!?
Amanpour: "One of the NGO's is quoted as saying: indiscriminate security measures, heavy handed crackdown, that rounds up thousands of people, whether they are civilian or children, people that have got nothing to do with Boko Haram. They are also saying the police in the last year or so have killed more people than Boko Haram. Do you admit that there is a problem in the security dealing with it?"
Jonathan: "That!-is not-correct. That!-is not- correct. I have said it severally; those are insinuations by some interest groups"
Amanpour: "One of those interest groups is the State Department of the United States"
Jonathan: "No! No! No! People get wrong information to the State Department of United States. They have the means of knowing the truth, they should try and "filter the truth". They should not just listen to people who have access to them."
Amanpour: "The United States Assistant Secretary of State has said: the methods of the crackdown is inflaming the population and inflaming the situation"
POWER (Electricity)
Amanpour: "When I interviewed you 3 years ago now, in your first interview as you assumed power. You said that the main issues for the people of Nigeria are corruption and even electricity, power you talked about. Today those are still the same issues. Some 60% of the people of Nigeria don't have regular power or electricity, 3 years later what do have to say about that?"
Jonathan: "I would have loved that you asked an ordinary Nigerian in the streets of Lagos and Abuja or another other city this question about power. That is one area that Nigerians are quite pleased with government, that our commitment to improve power is working. So if you are saying something different, am really surprised. That is one area that even civil society members agree that government has kept faith with its promise."
Amanpour: "What should I tell the people who keep contacting us and saying they hope they have electricity just to be able to watch this interview on their televisions, clearly it is still a big problem. Is it still a problem despite the progress you say you made?"
Jonathan: "We have not got to where we should be, the power infrastructure is one investment that must complete the chain before the bulb can light.
I promise you that before the end of the year, power would be reasonably stable."
CORRUPTION
Amanpour: "...corruption which you say you are trying to tackle. When people look at Nigeria and see all your wealth, they say oh my goodness this is a country that is stealing and bleeding itself dry. Even your own Minister of Finance talked about 400,000 barrels of oil a day simply being stolen, simply disappearing without any account. One of your ministers has said the level of theft from the government amounts to about $7 billion (U.S Dollars) a year, that's still a problem isn't it?"
Jonathan: "This stolen crude is being bought by refineries abroad and they know the oil was stolen. The world must condemn what is wrong. The stolen crude is refined abroad; it's not refined in Nigeria".
